


A Little Espionage Among Friends

by Akumeoi



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Catus Villa, Espionage, Gen, Girls' Night Out, Interrogation, Secret Identity, Wartime Resistance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 17:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13392606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi/pseuds/Akumeoi
Summary: Catus, Cindy, and Holly were out for a night on the town, when Holly spotted a new member of the Niflheim military who had recently arrived in town. The three girls hatch a plan to try and devine his evil intentions before he can cause any mischief in Lestallum.Written for FFXV ladies week day 2: Girls' Night Out





	A Little Espionage Among Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Who is Catus Villa? Why, she's the lovely girl from Galahad who appears in all of the FFXV: A New Empire promotional art. In my headcanon, she's also a masked vigilante called the Cat, modelled after a fictional WWII heroine from Vichy France. You can read about Catus [here](https://a-still-small-vox.tumblr.com/catusvilla).
> 
> This is not my best work, but I really wanted to write something about Catus. Sorry for making your fic so dialogue-heavy, Catus. 
> 
> Also, thanks to my friend Elena for making up this drug name for me. It's not real!

Catus was sitting at a small, wooden table in one of Lestallum’s familiar bars, the _King’s Arms_. The place was really more of a pub, as it also served good, hearty meals throughout the day. But this evening, Catus was just enjoying a locally-brewed beer and a bowl full of pretzels with her friends.

It was nice to be out with friends for once, especially since Catus didn’t have all that many these days. Many of her old school acquaintances had deserted her lately, believing she was a filthy Nif sympathiser because she was willing to flirt with any Niflheim military personnel who happened to pass through Lestallum. In reality, Catus hated the Empire. Flirting was just one of her many methods for extracting important information from the enemy. But in the interest of keeping her head down and her tail covered, she said nothing to disabuse her ex-friends of the notion that she was a traitor to the crown. Instead, she was making the most of her friendship with Holly Teulle, who she’d known for around fifteen years now, ever since she’d first moved to Lestallum. Holly stubbornly refused to believe Catus was a Nif sympathiser, despite all gossip to the contrary, bless her loyal heart. 

Tonight, they had gone out for a drink with Holly’s childhood friend Cindy, a mechanic from Hammerhead, out near Insomnia. Catus had met Cindy once or twice before, but didn’t know her very well. As the three of them made small talk about Cindy’s journey from Hammerhead to Lestallum, which was officially to get parts for an old Vixen sedan she was repairing, Catus caught Holly looking over Cindy’s shoulder, frowning in a way that Catus knew well.

A soldier from Niflheim had just entered the bar.

“Who is it this time?” Catus said, leaning towards Holly conspiratorially. Cindy looked around for a moment before spotting what - _who_ Holly was seeing, and her lip curled in disgust. 

“It’s a new one,” Holly sighed. Holly hated everyone from Niflheim unconditionally, but she somehow sounded even more pissed than usual as she watched him take a seat at the bar and order a drink. “Laelius Alcor.”

“I never thought I’d see the day people like him just waltzed into our bars and started drinkin’ our beer like it weren’t no thing,” Cindy commented, shaking her head. “It’s a cryin’ shame the Kingsguard had to withdraw to Insomnia.”

“You can say that again,” Holly said with feeling. “Wish he weren’t in here. I can’t drink with Nifs around. I just get so on edge.”

“We could go somewhere else,” Catus suggested, knowing that when Holly started fretting, she tended to fret for a while.

Holly shook her head. “I know I won’t be able to get him off my mind. I don’t like not knowing what he’s up to,” she said, taking a handful of pretzels and beginning to munch on them dis-spiritedly. “No one knows what he came to town for. The timing seems sketchy. Right after the Cat sealed another demon leak at the power plant.”

Catus was pleased with herself, but she hoped that she wasn’t responsible for the arrival of this Laelius Alcor and whatever it would bring. She had suspected for a long time that the Nifs were responsible for the demons constantly breaking into the power plant at night, but never had she had any proof. And even if she had - the Cat’s activities were always kept secret from the rest of the town. Whatever Nif conspiracies Catus uncovered, she usually had to deal with them on all her own. 

“If only we could interrogate him. A Nif on his own? If we were in Hammerhead we could ply him at Takka’s bar,” Cindy said.

“Well…” Catus began thoughtfully, causing Holly and Cindy to look over at her. “We could still do that here. We could get him drunk, invite him home with us. Look at him falling over the bartender. Bet he’d love to spend the night with three pretty girls like us.”

“Catus, we couldn’t,” Holly said, looking aghast. “What if he remembers?”

“Well… I heard if you mix xeroclorone with alcohol it induces a total blackout,” Catus said, naming a fairly common recreational drug.

“And you have drugs just sittin’ around in yer pockets?” Cindy said skeptically. 

Catus looked guilty. “I have some on hand,” she said, thinking of the many, many illegal and dangerous things she had stuffed into the glove compartment of her car - the car she had used to get to the bar in the first place.

“Well… it’s risky, but I’d feel ever so much better if I just knew what that horrible man was here for,” Holly fretted. Holly surprised Catus sometimes. Holly thought of herself as a cowardly person, but she somehow still managed to take the most audacious risks if the situation called for it, claiming anxiety all the while. Catus thought complaining might just be Holly’s way of coping with stress.

“Okay, so say we walk up to this gentleman, git him real good and drunk, bring him back to Holly’s apartment, drug him, ask him all kinds of questions, and learn a few interesting things. Then what? How are we gonna get him home? We don’t even know where he lives,” Cindy said, ever practical. All three girls had sort of abandoned their half-finished drinks by this point, but Cindy was toying with the rim of her glass with one hand.

“We could bring him back to the bar and leave him for one of the servers to find before closing time,” Catus suggested.

“But that might get them into trouble. We could always just… ask him where he lives,” said Holly.

“Perfect. Let’s do it?”

Cindy was the only one of them who looked reluctant, but finally she shrugged. “Guess I’m in for it too,” she said. The three girls threw back the rest of their drinks, and Catus dumped the rest of the pretzels into her pockets for later. Then she fluffed up her hair and pulled the front of her shirt down to show some more cleavage. Taking her cue, Cindy did the same. Then the three of them stood to make their way over to the bar to confront Laelius Alcor. 

\---

It had been remarkably easy to flirt the Laelius Alcor straight out of the bar. Catus, of course, had a lot of experience flirting with people she secretly hated - all in her line of work as the Cat. Cindy proved an adept flirt as well, posing sweetly with her hand on her hip and giving a sassy toss of her curls as introductions were made. Holly wasn’t a natural flirt by any stretch of the imagination, but her shyness seemed to come off as charming, rather than awkward. The slight amount of alcohol she had consumed before they had spotted Laelius probably helped. 

Then, once he was completely charmed by all three of them, and acting as if he believed them completely charmed by _him_ , he had accepted several rounds of drinks paid for by Catus (her poor, anaemic wallet) and then tipsily agreed to go with them to “a more suitable location”. He put his hands all over Catus and Cindy, even grabbing Holly’s ass as they made their way out of the bar. Ugh. Catus felt bad about that, but Holly had volunteered for this. She was fine, herself, mostly because she was currently in the kitchen of Holly’s apartment, mixing drugs into a beer. 

Holly’s apartment was a studio on the third floor of a building with a view on the power plant. The inside was a little messy, but not a disaster. It was homey, the sofas worn but incredibly comfortable. Laelius, who was wearing a crisp white shirt like he’d just peeled himself out of a uniform and gone directly to the bar as soon as he’d arrived in Lestallum, looked totally out of place. 

Sounded out of place, too, as he laughed loudly and a little drunkenly. Cindy and Holly were keeping their guest entertained in the living area, which was separated from the kitchen only by a table and the back of a sofa. Laelius had his back to Catus, but she was hiding her actions with her body as well, just in case. 

“Here’s your drink,” she said, sugar sweet, as she brought the beer from the kitchen to the living room. Without a thought, Laelius took it and immediately downed half the glass. 

“Why don’t you sit with us, Katie?” Laelius said, obviously having forgotten Catus’s real name. He already had one arm around Cindy and the other around Holly. Cindy was sprawled out like she hadn’t a care in the world, but Catus could see her fingers tapping in irritation against the arm of the sofa. Holly was holding herself straight and upright, clearly trying to let as few parts of her body touch Laelius’s as possible. 

Catus felt like that too, but she smiled and said, “Sure,” sliding in between Holly and Laelius. 

Thirty minutes later, the xeroclorone had clearly kicked in, as Laelius’s face was flushed, his eyes glassy, his breathing fast, but his reflexes slow. His head lolled against the back of the couch, and he grinned at them, not saying a word. It would have been uncanny, had Catus not been expecting it. Holly seemed uncertain, hovering at Catus’s elbow, while Cindy seemed defensive. Catus could almost see her ready to pull out a weapon if the situation demanded for it. Catus’s estimation for Cindy immediately increased.

“Don’t worry,” Catus said. “It’s started. We can speak freely. He won’t remember this tomorrow.”

“What’d’you mean?” Laelius said, his voice remarkably clear for someone who was both drugged and drunk. Catus was glad; she was afraid they might have overdone it on the alcohol back at the bar. 

“Are you sure?” Cindy said sharply. 

“Positive. Let’s start interrogating him.”

“Hey…” Laelius said, starting up. His limbs seemed to be too heavy for him, as he didn’t get very far, slumping back against the cushions. Catus knew he’d be feeling very comfortable, almost as if he were floating. Only his panting betrayed his true stressed physical state. 

“We’ve got some questions for you, sugar,” Cindy said, giving Catus a glance as she stepped forward. The glance said, _this better not be a trap for us_. It wasn’t, and Catus didn’t know how to reassure her, but Cindy continued with the interrogation regardless. 

“Yeah? Wanna hear about all the stuff I did in Niflheim? I’m great…” his head lolled towards Catus’s face, and she cringed and immediately got up. When Laelius only stared at Catus with a look of glassy adoration, Cindy stood as well.

“I’m sure you are,” Catus said, keeping her tone pleasant. “But no, we want to know what you’re gonna do now that you’re here.”

“Are you going to do anything to the power plant?” Holly added quickly. 

“Wha…?” 

“Don’t ask him too many questions at once, you’ll confuse him. This stuff might make people talkative, but it sure doesn’t make them any smarter,” Catus said, rolling her eyes. 

“Hey…” Laelius whined. Catus took few of the pretzels she had stored in her pockets earlier and popped them into her mouth.

“Okay, Laelius, why did you come to Lestallum?” Holly tried again. Cindy held out her hand, and Catus passed her some pretzels.

“To meet… pretty women,” Laelius slurred.

“Why did yer superior officers in Niflheim send you to Lestallum?” Cindy said, adopting Catus’s calm and clear tone. 

“Oh…” Laelius said, grinning nastily. “I’m gonna take over someone’s job. Ha. Dumb bimbo.”

“Whose job?” Holly said instantly. Catus had a feeling she was a little on edge, especially since the Nifs seemed to like interfering at the power plant so much. It could even be Holly’s job on the line - Six, Catus hoped not. Holly would just be crushed if she had to quit her job.

“Some girl…” Laelius said, clarifying nothing. The vast majority of workers in Lestallum were female, in every single industry. 

“What job is it?” Catus asked, trying to be patient. Cindy folded her arms, while Holly was hovering nervously at the edge of the sofa.

“You know… important stuff.”

Holly looked like she was going to strangle Laelius right then and there. Catus sighed. They might be here for a while. And she knew better.

“What kind of important stuff?”

“Stuff that _kills_ people.”

“Catus, this isn’t working,” Cindy said, sounding frustrated. But Catus could see a glimmer of a plan. This wasn’t the first time she’d interrogated someone under the effects of xeroclorane, after all. She paced in front of the sofa for a moment, then stopped.

“Hold on. I think I got it,” Catus said. Kneeling down, she looked Laelius in the eye and asked, “Are you here to be a safety inspector at the powerplant?”

“Yep. Gonna inspect the safety right out of the plant. Ha ha.”

Holly started up. “That’s Pippa Rhonwen’s job. Everybody loves and respects her. They can’t just take her job like that. And what does he mean, inspect the safety right out of the plant?”

“Piper Rhonwen… haha. I’m gonna inspect the safety right out of her, too,” Laelius leered. The look on his face could only be described as predatory, even through his drugged haze. He raised his arms slightly as if to make some kind of motion, then let them flop back down on the sofa - unreadable, but somehow sinister nonetheless. 

Catus’s heart dropped. “I have a bad feeling about this,” she said.

“So do I,” Cindy murmured. 

“Do you mean you’re going to kill her?” Holly gasped, catching on at last.

“Yeah. Got some friends of mine. Already on it…”

Catus straightened up abruptly. “I have to leave. Now,” she said urgently. Her Cat costume was under her clothes, save for the mask, which was in her purse. She could put it on when she was alone in the hallway, hightail it over to Pippa Rhonwen’s house, and hopefully be able to convince her to get to a safe place - if it wasn’t already too late. She didn’t even give Cindy and Holly time to respond as she turned on her heel, and practically ran from Holly’s apartment.

\---

After Catus had left, Cindy and Holly set about moving Laelius Alcor back to his hotel room. 

“I wish we could just dump him in the ravine,” Holly commented, and Cindy wholeheartedly agreed.

The hotel staff saw them bringing Laelius in, of course, but most of the people working there were people who Holly vaguely knew. Cindy hoped their acquaintanceship would encourage them not to tell Laelius their names the next morning when he woke up with a massive hangover. They left him passed out face-down on his bed, but a Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and then returned to Holly’s apartment.

Once safely home, Holly immediately started pacing around the living room, while Cindy leaned against the wall in the kitchen. She wanted to make dinner, since they had missed out on ordering something from the pub earlier, but she was feeling Holly’s anxiety too. Catus had promised that Laelius wouldn’t remember anything in the morning, but Cindy didn’t know her well enough to trust her at her word. And Cindy knew that if was arrested here in Lestallum for their impromptu interrogation session, it was unlikely her Paw Paw would be able to rescue her, ex-Crownsguard though he might be.

“You said Catus is one of yer old friends?” Cindy said, as Holly passed her, walking around the back of the sofa.

“Yes?” Holly said, continuing into the living room again.

“How much do ya trust her?” Cindy said, her tone unreadable.

“A lot - why?”

“Because I think there’s a bigger than zero chance that she just went off to fetch someone to have us arrested fer kidnapping and drugging an officer of the Niflheim army.”

Holly’s hands flew to her mouth, her eyes going wide with shock. “Catus would never,” she breathed, though her hands were trembling slightly. 

“Are you sure,” Cindy said calmly, “Because if ya ain’t, now’s lookin’ like a good time for us to git the hell out of Lestallum.”

“No,” Holly said, walking over to Cindy and leaning against the back of the sofa opposite her. “It terrifies me just to think of the possibility of getting caught for this. But - no. She wouldn’t.”

Cindy gave Holly a questioning look, waiting for her to explain. She really hoped that Holly had more to go on than “good vibes” just because Catus was her childhood friend.

“Once, I told Catus how I - how I was planning to secretly reduce the power delivered to buildings in Lestallum owned by Niflheim proprietors by 20% in small increments so they wouldn’t notice,” Holly said, giving a lopsided half-smile at the memory. “And I did it. And - and she must have known it was me, but nothing happened. Nobody came to arrest me.” Holly laughed nervously. “And there’s more - I think Catus knows the Cat.”

“The Cat?” Cindy said, wondering how Lestallum’s would-be costumed superhero came into this. She didn’t know much about the Cat, except that she was an openly anti-Niflheim saboteur who was likely going to get herself killed any day now. “How d’you rekon?”

“Well,” Holly began, “the first two times we had demons in the plant, I didn’t tell anyone, just hired some hunters to take care of it. The third time, I was just so frustrated that I vented about it to Catus. And I swear - the very next night, the Cat was seen in the plant, the demons were gone, and what’s more - we haven’t had any demons there since. It’s been a year.”

“That could just be a coincidence,” Cindy said, folding her arms. Although, truth be told… knowing that Catus hadn’t gotten Holly arrested for that little power reduction stunt was calming her anxiety. “Maybe she does know the Cat. But I think what’s most important here is knowin’ we ain’t gonna break our families hearts’ by gettin’ publicly executed for treason.”

“You’re right,” Holly said, flashing her a smile, and Cindy could tell that they were both feeling better now.

After that, Cindy made stir fry and Holly did the dishes. Neither of them could fall asleep, so they spent the night watching crap TV instead - but no soldiers turned up at their door to arrest them, in spite of Cindy’s fears. The next morning, Pippa Rhonwen’s resignation was found on her desk, but the woman herself seemed to have completely vanished. Some months later, Holly heard that one of her friends had received a letter from her, saying she had moved to Old Lestallum and things were going just fine.

As for Catus, she didn’t reappear until two days later, after Cindy had already gone back to Hammerhead. Holly told her later that when she saw Catus in the market, working her parents’ stall, she seemed distinctly frazzled. Maybe Cindy thought that Catus wasn’t the Cat, but Holly still wondered.


End file.
